MICHAEL 2 Is Gearing Up to Film Soon as Lionsgate Reveals Release Plans

The King of Pop’s story isn’t finished on the big screen, and Lionsgate already has cameras in its sights for the next chapter.

Following the massive success ofMichael, the studio is moving forward with its planned sequel and is hoping to begin production toward the end of 2026 or in early 2027.

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson shared the production window during the company’s Thursday earnings call, while also offering an early idea of when audiences might see Michael 2 in theaters.

If everything comes together, Lionsgate hopes to release the Michael Jackson sequel toward the end of 2027 or sometime during the first half of 2028.

It’s not exactly a surprise that Lionsgate wants to keep this train moving. Michael became a monster at the box office, earning $1 billion worldwide, and the movie itself practically promised another installment.

The film closes with the words “His Story Continues,” making the studio’s intentions pretty clear even before the sequel received an official greenlight.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, Michael follows Jackson’s rise from his early days performing with the Jackson 5 through his transformation into one of the biggest music stars on the planet. Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s real-life nephew, plays his famous uncle in the film, and he was awesome in the role.

The first movie brings Jackson’s story up through his 1987 Bad tour, leaving decades of his complicated life and career available for the sequel to explore.

Lionsgate hasn’t revealed exactly where Michael 2 will pick things up, but there’s certainly plenty of material available. Jackson’s Dangerous era would be an obvious part of the timeline, along with the increasingly controversial years that followed.

That includes the multiple allegations of child sexual abuse that became a major part of the public conversation surrounding Jackson for the remainder of his life.

Those allegations were originally expected to factor into Michael, but a late legal issue forced the production to make major changes.

The movie had been developed to address the molestation accusations, but attorneys representing the Jackson estate discovered a clause in a settlement involving one of Jackson’s accusers that prevented that individual from being depicted in a film.

As a result, the filmmakers had to rework a significant portion of the story and leave some of its most controversial material out of the finished movie.

That doesn’t mean everything produced during that process is headed for a vault. According to Fogelson, some previously filmed footage could find its way into the sequel, including several substantial performance scenes.

“We have a number of sequences, particularly some big musical sequences, that were shot previously, that are almost sure to be incorporated. We are mostly focused right now on how to make sure we can deliver, at the right price, the biggest, best sequel. That is what the audience is going to want and deserve after the experience we gave them the first time.”

Being able to reuse completed footage could also have a meaningful impact on the cost of Michael 2. Lionsgate isn’t talking numbers yet, and Fogelson said he’s “not ready to give guidance on the budget yet,” but the studio clearly sees value in incorporating material that has already been filmed.

There’s still a huge question hanging over the sequel, though: How far into Michael Jackson’s life will it actually go?

Ending the first movie around the Bad era gives the filmmakers a natural launching point for the next installment, but the years that followed become considerably more complicated.

Jackson continued producing massive music, including Dangerous, while his personal life, public image and legal troubles increasingly became intertwined with his career.

How Fuqua and the filmmakers approach that material will likely become one of the biggest talking points surrounding Michael 2. The first film covered the making of an icon. The sequel has the much trickier job of continuing that story through a period where the music and the controversies become impossible to completely separate.

For now, Lionsgate appears focused on figuring out the scale, budget and production plan before cameras start rolling. With filming targeted for late 2026 or early 2027 and a potential theatrical release between late 2027 and the first half of 2028, we shouldn’t have to wait too long before more details start coming together.

And after Michael pulled in $1 billion worldwide, you can bet Lionsgate has plenty of incentive to get Michael 2 dancing its way into theaters.